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Chapter 12, Chronicle III - Fear of Arrows by Knight By William Black Morlyn's creature hurled itself recklessly at the balloon. Its feeble mind contorted with pain. Morgan's arm trembled as she drew back the string of her bow. She took aim and loosed her arrow. The creature screamed and veered to its left. Morgan knelt to get another arrow ready, her hands practiced and quick. But she became distracted at the sudden sound of whistling projectiles as they rocketed past her basket. She glanced up to see the air clouded by black shafts, like so many angry bees. Arrow was circling safely some distant off, seemingly grateful for others taking up the attack. Quickly glancing down at the ground, she saw Will and Robert directing the archers, their bows ready for another onslaught. Once again the archers let their arrows fly with deadly precision. The creature screamed again, weaving its way through the cloud of darts. Some flew harmlessly past, other struck and bounced off the thick hide. But others.... The creature's face was studded with arrows. Its eyes pierced and blinded. The creature struggled in vain to stay aloft, its blood raining down on the archers below. Yet it was mortally wounded. Despite its valiant struggles to stay in the air, it lurched forward and back...once...twice...then fell headlong towards the ground. The soldiers saw the mountainous creature plummeting directly towards them. Men, screaming, ran in every direction trying to avoid being crushed by the creature. Three unfortunates reacted too slowly as the black doom hurtling towards them from the sky. They were crushed as the creature hit the ground with a earth-rattling 'Uhmmmmphhhh'. For what seemed like hours, the world seemed to stop completely. Men turned to the heap of tortured flesh and just stared. The odour of the creature's last breath temporarily paralysed them. Even Will hesitated drawing close to the creature to retrieve the trio of falling men. But screwing up his courage, and holding his arm over his nose, he approached the leathery horror. A few of the other soldiers following suite. They grabbed the fallen and pulled them away from the foul creature. Their eyes and noses watering profusely at the acrid smell being emitted by the corpse of the beast. Pulling their comrades some distance away, they knelt to do the dead honour. Will and Robert joined them. Morgan descended slowly, her head bowed in sorrow. Guilt plied its own kind of magic in her mind. She felt solely responsible for the deaths of the three young warriors now lying amongst their comrades. Her mind told her that in any conflict, there were risks, but her plan was completely unrehearsed. She'd not given any notice about what she was going to attempt. If she had, maybe the counsel of cooler heads would have prevailed. "No", she thought to herself, "I had to go off and do something stupid on my own." The need to feel independent overriding all other whispers of wisdom. A few of the soldiers noticed her descent and ran over to catch the ropes of the gondola. Robert too got up and ran over to help. His face was a mask... Will on the other hand watched as Robert helped Morgan from the basket. He wanted to say something to her, but this was not the time for interruptions. Nor was it a time for judgement and accusations. Morgan had actually done Morion's troops a great service. Morlyn's sky-spy was now dead. Morlyn was now, in a sense, partially blind. A good turn of events.. In this case, perhaps the ends did justify the means, save for the fallen. He gave orders for the men holding the balloon to secure it to a nearby boulder. Then he went over to the other soldiers who were continuing to mourn the loss of their friends. The smell was dissipating rapidly in the noontime breeze. Will knelt down along with the others, said a silent prayer, and waited. It was Robert who brought the men out of their private musings. "It's time we headed back to camp. It's not safe here," he said gruffly. "Is it safe anywhere these days," retorted Morgan. But Robert, ignoring her comment, flashed her an angry look of disapproval. "Men, get your things stored and mount up in 15 minutes. Tie these men to the backs of their horses. They'll not be left here." He brushed by Will without saying a word, and went to work organising his own equipment. "Didn't even bother to show one bit of gratitude," Morgan muttered darkly as she followed her lover. Will wanted to express his feelings, but this definitely was not the time. So he called Aspen to himself, helped get the deceased tied to their own mounts, and readied himself for a quick departure. He understood why Robert was angry with Morgan. He himself had been frustrated at her rashness, though it had achieved the purpose he was after. Morlyn would not only be partially blind, but also infuriated at his loss. Human type creatures Morlyn had little love for, but his own special pets, will that was something else. Especially if he was not done doing things to them. Some men had tied the ropes of the balloon to their saddle horns, and were ready to tow the craft back to the camp. The remaining moments past away quickly. Robert signalled to the men to mount up and move out. Will climbed into the saddle and nudged Aspen lovingly. "Time to go." He brought Aspen up just behind Sir Robert and noticed Morgan riding by herself out to the side. The company would make slower progress going back than they did coming due to having to haul the balloon back with them; however, Will contented himself with going over the battle plans. The plans, at least in his mind, had changed. No longer could Morion's forces rely on small surprise hit-and-run attacks. The night Morgan and he had killed Lord Banon proved that Morlyn's forces were too near for the type of gorilla warfare Captain Tactus had in mind. The environment wasn't exactly up to this type of tactic either. They were on the edge of a wide plan. Morlyn's forces just a few ridges beyond them. And only the Divine knew what type of progress they had made. It was even probable that they'd made it to the first set of traps. No, the battle plans would have to be altered. And Will had his plan; the one he'd favoured all along but didn't tell anyone about. But there was a big complication; two actually. Morion was now physically present with her troops. Though this didn't seem to give Morlyn the advantage, it did in truth. Morion would have to be very careful that no hint or rumour of her using magic reached the ears of her men. Indeed, she would have to be sure that no magic was done by anyone under her command. The other advantage given to Morlyn was the betrayal of Sir David. Without the First Knight's guidance, Morion's troops morale would be low. He had been their inspiration and encouragement, second only to Morion herself. Without him, knowing what he had attempted to do, the mind magic of Morlyn was sure to have a serious impact. By the time Will was finishing his private thoughts, the company was nearing the main camp. It appeared to him that the camp was readying itself for the battle. The messengers from the first outpost must have sent news, or brought it themselves. Will noticed a single rider spurring his mount out to meet them. It was Sir Alan. "Brother, Morlyn's troops. They're across the valley!" William Black © Continues... Chronicle III, Main page |